


Skin Deep

by acetonepoisoning



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Deviancy (Detroit: Become Human), F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Psychologists & Psychiatrists, Slow Burn, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:07:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27936892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acetonepoisoning/pseuds/acetonepoisoning
Summary: Hank's daughter, Claire, is a forensic psychologist at the Detroit Police Department. After CyberLife sends an android to aid in investigations regarding deviancy, she becomes infatuated with the synthetic psychology behind androids as a whole. Questioning the machine-like nature of her robotic partner, she ultimately finds herself falling for him as she realizes that he is more than an android designed to obey.
Relationships: Connor (Detroit: Become Human)/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. The Android Sent By CyberLife

The sound of her alarm clock jolted her from her sleep. After a groggy glance, she did a double take as she realized she should have left the house 20 minutes ago.

"Shit," she muttered as she frantically stumbled out of bed. "Fucking hell, fucking god damn snooze button."

Half dressed and putting on the first pair of pants she could find, she stumbled across the hall and knocked on the door in front of her.

"Dad, fucks sake, we're late." An annoyed groan from inside at least indicated he was alive, if not hungover.

Back in her room, she huffed as she threw her hair up into a bun and grabbed her coat, trying to look at least halfway presentable.

"Dad, I'm leaving in the next minute," she yelled from her room, fumbling with her purse to make sure nothing was forgotten. "If you're not up I'm leaving without you!" The ambivalent grunt from her father gave her the answer she needed.

She swiped her keys off the coffee table and darted out the door, giving Sumo a pat on the head as she left.

After disregarding various traffic safety laws and probably earning herself a few traffic tickets, she managed to arrive at the precinct with barely a minute to spare. Sprinting inside and clocking in, she made her way to her desk where she sank into her chair with an exasperated sigh. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on due to the stress of the morning so far.

"Fuck do I need coffee," she muttered to herself, standing up and opening her eyes only to see that someone was standing _directly fucking above her_. She practically jumped out of her skin, letting out a surprised yelp. How long had he been standing there? As her eyes made their way up to his face, she had another question; _Who the fuck is this guy_?

"Hello. I'm Connor, the android sent by CyberLife." That answers one question, but ultimately leaves her with thousands more. Why is CybeLife sending an android? Why is it standing at her desk? _Why is it so fucking cute_?

Any expletives that she was prepared to hurl at him got caught in her throat as she briefly examined his face, struck by its scarily human features. He had visible pores coupled with freckles scattered across his nose, complimenting his inquisitive brown eyes. She couldn't stop her eyes from drifting towards the stray locks of hair resting on his forehead, only adding to his deceptively real appearance. If it weren't for his introduction and his CyberLife suit, she would never have guessed that he was an android. What fucking business did CyberLife have making him look so attractive?

Her swirling thoughts were interrupted as the Android began speaking again. "I apologize for startling you. I was wondering if you knew where Liutenant Anderson is?" He gestered to the desk next to hers, which did indeed belong to her father.

Trying to appear indifferent before answering, she idly grabbed her purse and began looking through it as if she had lost something. "Yeah, uh, he's normally late." She fumbled for a moment with her phone, checking the time. "He has a nasty hangover this morning, so I wouldn't expect him to arrive for at least another hour." She paused, meeting Connor's unrelenting gaze once more.

Didn't they program androids to know that staring was rude?

"You are Liutenant Anderson's daughter, am I correct?"

She was surprised by this question until she realized that her last name was displayed by the name plate sitting on her desk. Still, she was curious to know just how much Connor was able to find out about her during their short exchange.

"How'd you know that," She challenged. "You been snoopin' through my shit?"

Such an accusation might have made an actual human being feel somewhat guilty, but Connor was unfazed.

"No, I have access to all government records and databases, allowing me to identify any documented individual." He briefly looked her up and down before continuing. "I am also able to deduce that you have recently come into contact Liutenant Anderson's dog due to the hairs on your clothing, indicating at the very least that you came from his house this morning. In addition, you and Liutenant Anderson share the same last name according to your name plates."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes before placing her purse back in her chair. Despite her aloof reaction, she had to admit to herself that she was impressed. She had never met an android with such a level of deductive capabilities. 

Damn. Maybe androids will end up replacing her, too?

Sighing, she looked up at him, with apprehension in her face that fortunately went unnoticed by the android.

"Well, while I'm sure you know this already I might as well be polite and introduce myself." She stuck her hand out and looked Connor in the eye, swallowing her pride and whatever the fuck else she was feeling. "My name is Claire. I look forward to working with you Connor."

Connor hesitated, analyzing her words to detect any ulterior meaning. Despite being in commission for a short time, he was already aware of the disdain that many humans held for his kind. As a result, his first reaction to her sincerity was to determine the presence of sarcasm. After finding none, he reciprocated her handshake, albeit after an agonizing second of processing that only intensified Claire's anxiety.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Claire." Claire gave a quick smile before turning around and heading towards the breakroom. "I'll be drinking coffee if you need anything," she yelled over her shoulder.

Connor perked up a synthetic eyebrow, analyzing her as she walked away. While he was incapable of experiencing human emotion, he certainly found her to be of higher interest than the other humans he had encountered. He couldn't quite pinpoint why this was this case, and found himself somewhat lost in thought as he took a seat in Liutenant Anderson's chair.


	2. Software Instability

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After chatting with Connor some more, Claire discovers that he is in Detroit to investigate the increasing frequency of deviants. On top of this, he reveals that he has been assigned to work with her her father, Hank Anderson. Despite the matter-of-fact nature with which he speaks, Connor begins facing internal conflicts as he locates flaws with his programming that are inexplicably triggered by Claire.

Approximately 20 minutes had passed before Claire returned to her desk, Connor still occupying the seat across the aisle from her. She shot him a quizzical look, seeing his LED spinning yellow as he stared at what appeared to be nothing. Weird, but certainly not the strangest behavior she's seen from an android.

"So, what brings you to DPD?"

Her question brought Connor out of his stupor, blinking a few times before his LED returned to its normal blue color.

"CyberLife has sent me to investigate cases involving deviants." Connor paused as he noticed her confused expression.

"So let me get this straight," she furrowed her eyebrows in faux thoughtfulness. "CyberLife sent an android... to investigate deviant androids... while more and more androids are rebelling. I don't see how that could possibly go wrong." She chuckled to herself and swirled her chair to face the terminal on her desk.

Connor had nothing to say in response. While it was true that he was an extremely advanced prototype, self tested regularly, and returned to CyberLife on a daily basis for routine maintenance, the reason these procedures were necessary in the first place was because of the possibility that Connor himself could become deviant.

While Connor couldn't feel fear, he would be lying if he said that he wasn't bothered by the idea.

Claire chimed in once more, still idly scrolling through the case descriptions in front of her. "And you're working with my dad on these cases?"

Connor nodded, looking around the station briefly in search of the aforementioned liutenant. "That is correct."

Out of all of the responses he had anticipated, the last one he expected to receive was laughter. His head shot back to face Claire, who shyly hid her mouth as she giggled.

"I'm sorry, I seem to have missed something." Connor tilted his head. "I did not intend to be humorous." That only made her laugh even harder, causing Connor to experience a sensation he couldn't quite grasp. He ran a diagnostic scan as he waited for her to calm down.

"I'm sorry," she chuckled, wiping a stray tear from her eye. "It's just that my dad fucking _hates_ androids. I can't believe Fowler had the balls to pull that shit."

Before Connor could form a response to the apparently ironic situation, he followed Claire's gaze as it was diverted to the precinct entrance. Hank had finally made an appearance, grumbling to himself as he made his way towards his desk. It wasn't until he was about to sit down that he realized his desk was occupied.

Connor swiftly stood, offering Hank his seat. "Hello again, Liutenant."

Claire quirked up an eyebrow in amusement. "Again?"

Hank sighed, snatching his chair away from the android as he sat down. He buried his head in his arms on his desk, deciding that the precinct was just too fucking bright today. "Fucking god damn android..."

Connor took that as his cue to respond. "I accompanied Liutenant Anderson to a crime scene last night after tracking him down."

Claire's playful expression turned to annoyance, catching Connor off guard as she smacked her father on the back of the head.

Hank's head shot up, muttering expletives as he rubbed the afflicted area. "You're supposed to call me when you work a case, you ass!" Claire huffed and crossed her arms. "It's no fun when you keep all the work to yourself!"

"Yeah, yeah." Hank finally sat up, leaning against the back of his chair with a smirk, visibly more lucid than he was a moment prior. "You'll get some action today kiddo. You can watch us interrogate the suspect we detained at the scene. Maybe analyze its psychology or some shit."

The two continued to converse, and at this point Connor had settled on observing the dynamic between the father-daughter duo. He didn't mind to watch as Claire flared up at the mention of an ongoing investigation, even if he didn't have a logical explanation for why. She was clearly a driven individual, passionate about her line of work. Something about this information made Connor's processors overwork themselves as they attempted to analyze the young detective, although this time he did not run a self scan.

If anyone was watching the android, they might interpret his stare as one of admiration.

Connor was brought back into real time as another detective requested Liutenant Anderson's presence in the interrogation room, where the deviant suspect was currently being held. Claire practically jumped out of her chair, giving Connor an expecting glance. "Come on! Let's see what we can find out."


End file.
